wrightak wrote:
Ryuujin27 wrote:
But then again, one of those (native speaking) teachers tried to argue that 雰囲気 is NEVER pronounced ふいんき >_>
It's not. When I say that, I don't mean that there's no 'nk' sound - I think you can hear that. But that's different from the ん sound. This is because the ん, like all hiragana, last for a certain amount of time. I reckon the 'fu' lasts for two beats, and the き at the end sounds more like nki and not ki. So maybe something like fuuinki.
So I reckon that's probably why the teacher refuses to acknowledge it. Transcribing what you're hearing as ふいんき implies the initial fu only lasts one beat, which it definitely doesn't, and that the 'n' sound that your hearing lasts longer than it does.
Written Japanese isn't phonetic and never has been. Language reforms after WW2 made it pretty close though, at the expense of making the grammar somewhat messed up (creating the て form among other things). Things like this, the weak u vowels, rendaku etc are little cracks in the illusion.
kfmfe04 wrote:
Yes, I have heard this, too. Amongst city-dwellers and younger people, the only time they seem to use おみやげ is for souvenirs brought home from a trip. プレゼント seems to be much more popular for presents, in general.
Probably because お土産 doesn't mean "present". It literally means "local(ly produced) goods". So when you go on a trip and buy stuff to give to people back home, you are buying お土産 AS presents. You can also buy 土産 for yourself, in which case they are not presents.
In the case of the Japanese person coming from abroad and Nac_est giving them something "Roman", it also counts as 土産 as a present.
Buying a DVD from the mall for your friend cause it's his birthday is not 土産, its just a present.
Last edited by Jarvik7 (2009 March 20, 3:48 am)
